The Ursid meteor shower can be seen tonight beginning at midnight until 1 a.m. on Dec. 22 before the moon rises.

Ursid meteor activity starts around Dec. 17 and typically run until the 25th or 26th. The shower takes its name from its radiant point, which is located near the star Beta Ursae Minoris in the Ursa Minor constellation. The meteor shower consists of 5-10 of meteors or shooting stars every hour, but observers have witnessed up to 50 per hour in past years.

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Sadly, 2016 won't be a spectacular year for the Ursids, according to NASA. The moon will conceal much of the show.

"They're about average," NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com earlier this month. "The Ursids are not noted for fireballs, like the Geminids and the Perseids [are]. You will need a dark sky to see them."

Robert Lunsford, a longtime member of the American Meteor Society advised hopeful observers to look at the sky early Thursday morning -- after midnight but as late as possible before the sun rises. The meteors will appear to be moving away from the bowl of the Little Dipper, traveling higher as sunrise nears.